June 4 Weekend Rides

[Orange utopia]

I have been doing a weekend series with the Baltimore Bicycle Club called the Instructional Series. I thought it would be a good way to ease back into the sport after such a long absence. They have a good mixed group from expereienced, faster road riders to newbies that haven't been off of the paths and on the road before. I seem to fall somewhere in the middle of the pack I think.

Today we had a great ride around northern Baltimore county. Lots of hills on back country roads. My group only did 16 miles but it was a wonderful ride. Next week we will do the same route only make it longer.

[grey]

I want a wine country ride! That sounds like my kind of fun. There's a loop outside St, Louis that starts at the Lau Nae winery in Red Bud, IL and goes to St. Charles, MO. Plenty of wine there! *begins planning trip to see Grandma* Who's with me? LOL

Today I did an old 20 mile loop that I haven't done in about 10 days. I love it when you can see massive improvement in hill climbing/long stretches, today was one of those obvious "hey look, improvement!" days. I'm more of a masher, though I do keep a cadence going most of the time, I prefer to hang out in the big ring. Hills are getting easier, I'm climbing them pretty quickly now and most times, am still in the big ring unless they are steep. I keep adjusting my saddle & handlebar placement, and for the last 2 miles there was a bit of a back ache but prior to that, I felt great. Hoping it's a strength building issue, otherwise, I feel ready to jump back into 40 mile rides again! Woohoo recovery!

Meanwhile, it was HOT... and my puppy thinks i am a big salt lick. Shower time.

[indysteel]

Gosh, everyone's having a great weekend of riding! I want to do a wine tour, too!

DH got most of the mulch down this morning! Woot. Our flower beds look really nice From there, I took my mountain bike out for a tool around town. Then DH and I took our relatively new touring bikes out for 15 miles. We're still tweaking things on both bikes. I'm so used to my road bike, it's hard to get used to something heavier.

[okraftw]

I did 12 miles today. I am trying to get my friend into biking, so I gave her my old bike, and today we bike down the Schuylkill river trail to watch the pro racers come through (Philadelphia International Championship.) A lovely six miles ride down, we watched the peloton ride by (Awesome!) A lovely six miles back! I think it worked.

[emily_in_nc]

52 miles today. Rode with DH (who did extra miles to get 70). Suburban to urban to rural hills with a nice stop at the ice cream store on the way home. It was humid and hot, started out overcast but soon turned sunny, so I was totally drenched when I got done, but I actually felt fairly good. I think I ate enough this time but may not have had quite enough to drink as I'd lost 1.5 lbs immediately after returning home AND having a large glass of OJ. I continued drinking fluids all afternoon.

My longest ride since my accident in 2005.

[luv2climb]

Finally got some decent weather to do some climbing! I went to El Dorado Hills to climb another nice steep one I discovered last month while looking for Boulder Ridge Road. This one is Marble Ridge Road. It has a maximum gradient of 16%, with a pretty consistent 15% section after the switchback on the first part of the climb.

I had my video camera recording as always, and got another dog encounter on camera. This one was more positive than the last one I posted here, where the dog escaped the yard and chased me near the top of another climb. This time the dog was waiting for me near the top of a switchback. He barked a little, then proceeded to trot alongside me until I reached the top of the climb. Since the dog wasn't being threatening, I figured it was safe to make my usual puppy sound. I slowed down at the top so the dog would be on camera again.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/90479831

Here's the video. You can see the dog starting at 4:52.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAelTvtOHYw

View from the top:


view from top of Marble Ridge Road by kittyz202, on Flickr

[owlice]

I set out this afternoon after cleaning my bike a bit. I noticed that my head was sweating before I was done oiling the chain (the back of my head sweats like 16 horses after running the Preakness, and it's not as if I even have all that much hair!)... hmmm... warmed up, didn't it?

Well yes. Yes it did. I rode some of my usual trails and got in 25 miles; should have stopped for water a little sooner than I did, not because I felt dehydrated, but because I was so hot, I sucked it down and swallowed some air with it. Which made my chest hurt. Which gave me the fleeting thought: Gee, this would not be a good place to have a heart attack. (My older brother having prodigious talent in the belching arts, he got it all; I am seriously deficient in that area. Having a bubble of swallowed air hurts!)

But I digress. It was sunny and warm; I saw a Great Blue Heron in the swamp, a turkey vulture hanging out on a mud flat in the Anacostia River, a lot of mallards, and a good number of red-winged blackbirds. Also bunnies and a turtle. No deer, however, which surprised me a little.

I was not fast -- 11.5 MPH. There were a lot of people out. I chastised only one person, handed out many many compliments to children who followed directions/paid attention very well (thereby avoiding injury, woo-hoo!), and managed to avoid running into any of the clueless parents. A good day!

[emily_in_nc]

I set out this afternoon after cleaning my bike a bit. I noticed that my head was sweating before I was done oiling the chain (the back of my head sweats like 16 horses after running the Preakness, and it's not as if I even have all that much hair!).

LOL...too funny. My head is the same. The back of my short hair gets absolutely drenched and drips everywhere. I've ridden with gals who take off their helmets, shake out their dry hair without any apparent sweat, and go. Truly an unfair genetic advantage they have.

[Velocivixen]

I rode 27 miles today along the Springwater Corridor. I rode to a transit station, too light rail to downtown Portland, then rode to my destination. On the way home, did the same thing in reverse. It was overcast and in the 70's with a nice breeze. I saw a deer jump a chain link fence, walk across the bike path and stepped through another (different type) of fence! I've included a self portrait.

[Velocivixen]

Well apparently my self portrait didn't upload. I'll try again. Glad to see so many people having had nice rides this weekend.

[Aggie_Ama]

I did 11 miles mountain biking Friday, took dogs to the vet Saturday, massive house cleaning Saturday afternoon and evening and recovery Sunday. Not much mileage but I am pooped!

[limewave]

I took DD mountain biking again! I love taking her. She gets so perky and upbeat on our way to the trail and she's so proud of herself afterward. She had 2 big crashes. The first one she fell off her bike, rolled down and embankment into a swamp The second one, she was being so brave, she decided to tackle a decent size downhill but lost control and endoed at the bottom doing a face-plant over her bars and then bounced into the woods Not something a mother wants to see. After a good cry and some reassurance, she was fine and managed to finish the ride with some renewed enthusiasm. Looks like this will be a weekly thing for us!!!!

[Crankin]

I love this.
The first time I attempted a stream crossing, a 4 year boy, on a teeny tiny Trek mountain bike beat me to it. He crashed and got right up, which gave me the push to get to the other side!